


Strength Never Betrays

by Theri



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Non-Graphic Violence, mentions of drinking, no relationships tagged because it's kinda ambiguous sorta
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-06
Updated: 2020-03-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:08:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23043010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Theri/pseuds/Theri
Summary: “You’re apologizing for them dying, but you say nothing about how you took them from me in the first place."
Kudos: 8





	Strength Never Betrays

Dimitri stood stock still, back held up straight, preparing himself for whatever Felix might say.

“I hate you. Plain and simple, I hate you.” The swordsman tightened his grip around the hilt of his weapon until his knuckles turned white. “What right do you have to walk around talking to people like you’re not some bloodthirsty beast?” Even as the words left his lips, he knew that wasn’t the heart of the matter. No, the real reason he hated Dimitri was….

The former boar king shook his head. “The only thing I can do is live my life. Whether those around me will accept me or not…that is up to them.” His remaining eye looked off into the distance. “The professor put her faith in me. I hope that one day I can live up to that.”

Felix bit his cheek to keep himself from screaming. Damn, he’d drunk too much at the dining hall. The booze was getting to him. “Whatever. You can talk all you like; a beast is still a beast whether it walks on two legs or not.”

Dimitri rested a hand on Felix’s shoulder before the latter swatted it away. “Felix, I know you’re hurting. Rodrigue was--”

“ _ Don’t say that name in front of me _ ,” he snarled, back away from the blond. Felix shook his head, trying to clear some of the adrenaline in his boozed-up brain. “My old man has been a stranger to me for a long time. He made his choice; I made mine.” For a moment, his voice threatened to crack, but Felix reigned it in. Rodrigue had made his decision a long time ago. His death was just the logical conclusion to that choice. As far as Felix was concerned, he had no father.

“Felix, that’s--”

“What?” he retorted bitingly. “Uncalled for? Cruel? You have no right to pass judgement on me.” He needed to step away now. If this kept up, something was going to give. And he wasn’t sure it would be in his favor. Felix turned on his heel, making his way back to the dorm rooms. 

The heavy thud of Dimitri’s armor followed him. “What are you talking about? Felix, I just want to talk! I’m sorry about Rodrigue and I’m sorry about Glenn!”

Something cracked. Against his better judgment, Felix stopped. Dimitri wasn’t even apologizing for the right thing. He whipped around, the tip of his sword a hair's breadth away from the rightful king. Why did his body feel so tight? Like he was going to explode. “Don’t apologize for things you don’t understand,” he snapped.  _ I don’t get it. What makes you so special? _

“Then make me understand,” Dimitri growled, grabbing Felix’s arm with enough force to almost crack the bone.

Felix leaned into the king, eyes blazing with silent fury. The pain only served to make him feel angrier. “You’ll never understand,” he said simply, bitterly. “Everyone picks you. And it’s not even because you’re an amazing person or anything; it’s because of your legacy and crown.”

Dimitri’s eye widened in surprise. “What…?”

Felix shook his head. “My father always idolized yours. To him, Lambert was his world. Not to mention he was in love with your mother. Glenn and I were born out of his sense of obligation to wed.”

The blond watched him for a few moments in doubt. “Are you sure about that?”

A harsh laugh left Felix. “What are you talking about? You’re the only one who  _ doesn’t _ know!” He bit his lip. “Glenn knew it too, and yet he was just like Rodrigue. He chose you over me. He threw away his life and died a horrible death all to protect you.” He backed up before swinging his sword at Dimitri, daring him to dodge. The king blocked the blade, but made no move to retaliate.

They were sparring now. At the stables. The horses watched them anxiously, some stamping their feet. Felix didn’t care; he just swung his blade even though his arm was throbbing. “That day, I remember the very first words out of my father’s mouth: ‘Where is Dimitri?’.” A bitter smile clung to his features as he dodged and rolled. “He asked about Glenn second. His own flesh-and-blood son.” Felix grit his teeth as he absorbed a blow, his knees nearly giving out. “My father chose you over me from the start, as did my brother. And now, so does  _ she _ .”

Dimitri’s eyebrow lifted in surprise. “Who? The professor?”

A particularly loud clang of their weapons answered the question for Felix. “People pick you and then they die for you. I said nothing when it happened to my fool of a brother. And I said nothing when my father took that knife for you.” His sword rang against Dimitri’s lance, punctuating his next sentence. “But if you  _ ever _ ”--clash--“have”--clash--“her”--clash--“die”--clash--“for”--clash--“you”--clash. Felix panted, feeling his muscles ache. “I will be silent no more. I’ll rend your head from your shoulders myself.”

Byleth didn’t deserve to meet such a foolish end. She deserved happiness. So why did she love Dimitri? What the hell did Dimitri ever do to attract so many people? Rodrigue was too busy sucking Lambert’s dick to ever realize he had two sons of his own, and Glenn became wholly obsessed with the notion of being a true knight. Those were critical flaws that ended with their downfall. But Byleth…never did anything wrong. He could deal with her being with Dimitri. He could be happy for her, even. But Felix could never accept Byleth dying for the king. Then she would just be another hole in the ground. Another collection of dreams and ambitions left unfulfilled. The same as Glenn and Rodrigue.

“You’re apologizing for them dying, but you say nothing about how you took them from me in the first place,” he choked out, the closest he’d come to crying since Glenn’s death.

Dimitri was already moving to say something, but Felix abruptly turned and fled. He didn’t need to hear it. He pursued strength above all else because strength never betrays. So long as he had his sword by his side, he had what he needed to move on.

**Author's Note:**

> Just kinda banged this out, I'm not sure if it's good or not. It lacks a lot of structure oof. I'm sure it could use some editing, but perhaps I'll do that another time. Really stressed with all this coronavirus bullshit and school deadlines. I wanted to write Yurileth but my mind took me here instead since I'm playing Blue Lions for the DLC.  
> Also for some reason I got a lot of enjoyment out of that Rodrigue sucking Lambert's dick statement.


End file.
